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Abbey | New Belgium Brewing

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12oz bottle into chalice
BB 9/30/18 was sitting in the cellar
Pours brown with red highlights, with thin head
Figs, dates, pudding, raisins
Taste is obviously heavily malt forward, with dark bread notes, slight caramel, followed by plenty of yeast esters some might associate with bananas
The feel is medium bodied, has a thick feel without being full bodied
Overall the aroma is on point, but the taste is unbalanced and dark fruit not as noticeable

Well lets start with ...i had this beer before and did not rate it, because I was not on BA yet...I wish I would have been at that time, because it has changed just like Fear4beer states in his review.
It is not what I remember, but still good...just not great like I remember.
There seems to be a little semi funk to this new recipe that has me puzzled, but still enjoying the adventure. It has the abbey and dubbel to it, but just a lil' off for me.
Will return to this again, and see if it is an off day for me and dubbs.

Well I have returned to it, and yes it was an off day for me and dubbs...it turns out to be a little more like I remember, and I have re-adjusted my rating.
The semi funk is gone, the taste has smoothed out for me and very enjoyable this time...The nose has gotten much sweeter with some caramel, banana, nad maybe some smoke.
The taste has also smoothed out with some mild sweetness of cherry with the mild smoke. All in all, very enjoyable this time and sorry for my rating the first or really the (second) time I had this brew...so please try it. It is a very nice Abbey Dubbel.

From notes 2/13/12: Pours a dark amber/pale brown with a nice beige (with a faint grayish tint), lasting frothy head that leaves some clumpy lacing. Aroma is bubblegum (or banana and clove), a hint of dark fruit another fruity esters. Taste is very similar but more potent with stronger fruit notes especially sweet apple. A sweet start slowly gravitates to a slightly dry and bitter finish. A nice American craft Abbey Ale, slightly different but pleasant and very drinkable.

Pours a clear deep brown with purple tints. Good amount of tan head that has some staying power, nice lacing. Aroma is dark fruit. Flavor is sweet ripe dark fruits, raisins, plums and dates. Sweet caramel malts. Feel is rather thick and lightly carbonated. Over all a very drinkable ale.

Look - Nice copper / dark amber color - really translucent, but not crystal clear. Only a 1 finger head from a 12 oz. Head dissipated rapidly and a ring of bubbles continued on. Hoped for more carbonation - My favorite Belgian Dubs have really large bubbles and are pretty frothy.

Smell - Some bubble gum and some odd aromas of chemicals and melting plastic. Not super aromatic, but some caramel and plum come through as well.

Taste - A quick taste of Bubble Gum - then you get a blast of Belgian yeast goodness and caramel sweetness. There may have been a quick Hop bite there at first, but drops off quickly. There is some plum/prune, tobacco, clove, and caramel. Very flavorful, but there are a few hints of that chemical smell that I mentioned earlier, in the taste as well. Some slight metallic hint here and there as well. It isn't overpowering, but subtly there.

Feel - Medium bodied - carbonation drops off way too soon - would have earned an extra point for me if it stayed bubbly.

Overall - I have know about this beer for years and just now tried it for the first time as a single. I live in Colorado and it's hard to believe this is my first. It is decent and I would buy it again.... it would take me a while to do a 6-pack though. I don't think I would drink a second one back to back.

I'm updating my review.
Ughhhh. I originally reviewed this beer during its glory years. I was in love with this beer. It was my little secret. Best bang for the buck beer in America. Then they changed the recipe. It's like a completely different beer. I forgot what the original beer tasted like but I knew I liked it more. This beer to me tastes more like a Belgian dubbel than the original. But that's not in a good way. Read my original review below. There was a banana and bubble gum: two flavors known in Hefeweizens. Now this beer is prune/plum heavy what you normally taste in a traditional Belgium Dubbel. It's still a great beer but its not legendary anymore. This tastes more like an authentic Belgium dubbel made by belgium monks which is both a huge compliment and a negative to me. How about you guys at New Belgium offer the original recipe and offer this new recipe too. They are practically two different beers. I appreciate how this beer transformed into a very close representation of a classic Belgium Dubbel but the original recipe was so damn tasty. It was unique and delicious.

MY ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW:
An amazing American version of a Belgium beer. There is SO much that this beer gets right. The beer pours beautifully with at least a two finger head, it has a beautiful shade of redish brown liquid, and it has a GREAT mouth feel (it isn't watered down). It feels like an authentic Belgium beer (that costs about $6+ a bottle). This beer is priced perfectly, wow, so much bang for the buck! I can get it for $1.50 a bottle. It has 7% abv too! The alcohol is masked: you can feel the warmth of it but not really a taste of alcohol.

The taste is of malt, banana, bubble gum (you can taste it when you burp :-D ), pepper, and yeast.

This is one of the best bang for your buck beers in America. I'm in love with this stuff.

12oz bottle bb 2/17/19 poured into Westmalle goblet at fridge temp 7% ABV. The beer pours bright medium brown in color with blonde highlights and light khaki head. The head settles to a skim coating and pencil thin ring. The aroma is toasted bread, red grapes and herbal hops. The taste is dark, but not bitter, malt with red grapes and herbal hops. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied, highly carbonated and dry in the finish. There is some bitterness that keeps the beer from ever leaning sweet. Overall, good. Not sure it's a traditional dubbel after the recipe change, but enjoyable.